entrepreneur Archives - Page 8 of 8

SBM #27- Fear of Decisions

Tagged as: bike, decisions, Dr. Phil, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, failure, Mistakes, optimist, paralyze, success

As entrepreneurs, we are faced with a daily buffet of decisions we must make. Some days the sheer quantity can overwhelm and dishearten an individual. Granted many decisions are simple and require little or no effort, however they all aren’t and this can really cripple an individual if they’re afraid to make a mistake.

The saying “I’ve learned more from my failures than my successes” is one often expressed by many successful entrepreneurs. They learned early on that failure is a big part of being successful. What you learn and how you apply that lesson, is the true test of your ability to survive the entrepreneurial journey.

Dr. Phil

Most of us didn’t learn to ride a bike on the first try. We fell, got up and tried again and again until we got it, then pedaled off to freedom. Somewhere along the line we lost that innocence and started worrying about all sorts of unimportant things, like what people are going to say or think about us if we fail? I believe it was Dr. Phil who said that “If you’re worried about what people are going to think, you’d be surprised how little they care!” In other words, we’re never as important as we like to think we are.

What If?

Being the eternal optimist, I prefer to look at decisions from the perspective of “What if I’m right?” I find that we’re right more often than we’re wrong and the more decisions we make the better we get at the process. That of course assumes we take the time to review both our successes and failure so that we may learn from each.

So don’t let the fear of making a mistake paralyze you.

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM #23 – Who’s Got Your Back?

Tagged as: delegating, entrepreneur, illness, invincible, overwhelmed, superhuman

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

As entrepreneurs we are use to doing everything because in the beginning there wasn’t anyone else. As they say, old habits are hard to break so when a staff member gets sick or overwhelmed, we’re usually the first ones to jump in and cover the situation. But who covers for you when you get sick? Who’s got your back?

We’re Only Human

I know we think we’re superhuman, and sometimes we really are, but most of the time we’re just frail human beings just like everyone else and we need to seriously consider a contingency plan. How would your business operate if you we’re sidelined for a week or even worse a couple of months?

Now chances are no one employee can wear all your hats, but chances are if properly allocated across a few employees you would most likely cover 70-80% of your critical duties and would allow your company to continue to function if your absence was more than just a couple of days.

Who’s Got Your Back?

So where do you begin? Ideally look for those task that can be easily transitioned like staff or project scheduling. Who does the invoicing? If you train someone else as a back up, your cash flow won’t be terribly disrupted while you’re benched. Is quality control part of your oversight? Again, train someone because you can’t afford to have completed orders sitting on the floor and missing deadlines.

The thing is, you’re not invincible and you may never be faced with a time out but it’s no different than any other emergency plan you have in place. You don’t need it, until you need it.

The truly great thing about this exercise is that you may discover that your staff may be far more capable than you gave them credit and you just might start down the road of delegating more and more tasks and really free yourself from the day to day running of your business.

One mandate I had at my company was that all positions and functions had a trained backup, including me. So, who’s got your back?

You may also enjoy Delegating Is Easier Than You Think

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM #20 – Cash Flow – The Breath Of Life

Tagged as: cash flow, entrepreneur, oxygen, Paypal, receivables, Square

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Prior to starting my own business, I literally devoured everything I could about owning and running a company. One thing that I could never understand was how a perfectly good business ended up going bankrupt because of cash flow problems. It wasn’t until I started my own first enterprise that I quickly learned that regardless of how profitable you were, it didn’t matter until that money was in the bank- Cash flow ruled!

Cash flow in a business is much like the oxygen we mere mortals need to survive. Getting paid for what we do is like breathing in, it’s the oxygen our business needs to survive. On the other hand, paying our bills is like breathing out.

Much like our bodies, we can’t just breathe out nor can we just keep paying bills, we need a constant source of cash coming into our businesses and the only way to do that is to make sure our receivables are current.

Get Over It!

All too often I hear owners tell me they don’t want to annoy their customers by constantly bugging them. To this I usually respond with “get over it”. You’re entitled to your money and you need to get a little more serious about it. If dealing with consumers, don’t you leave or let them leave without being paid in full.

With services like Square or Paypal you can accept credit cards on the spot, so there are no excuses. Getting paid in a timely manner ensures you give your business the oxygen it needs for it’s survival.

If you have a topic idea, send me an email and if I use your suggestion, I’ll send you an digital version of my book Get More LIFE Out Of Your Business

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM #18- Delegating Is Easier Than You Think

Tagged as: delegating, enlightenment, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, expert, freedom, high value, projects, small business, tasks, training

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Entrepreneurs are notorious for not delegating duties and responsibilities within their organizations. A common reason for this that they figure it’s just easier and quicker to do it themselves than to take the extra time required to train someone. So instead, they just figure they’ll work a little harder.

Delegating Is Freedom

For those lucky few who do find enlightenment, they quickly realize how learning to delegate can be a revelation in freedom that, over time will allow to become a better manager and allow you to focus on the long range plan of your organization, instead of being stuck in the moment.

Contrary to what most people assume, delegating is easier than you think. Instead of trying to delegate a whole task start by breaking it down into bite size pieces. For instance, if a task requires ten steps to complete, start by delegating the first few steps. That may be as simple as getting an individual to collect some of the some initial data.

By delegating those couple of items is the beginning of the training process. Once you’re comfortable, you can delegate a few more of the steps and before long you have effectively delegated 70% of the task, thereby freeing you to focus on higher value activities that really do require your attention and possibly gaining some additional freedom.

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM #16 Rejection-The Best Research You’ll Ever Get!

Tagged as: entrepreneur, rejection, selling, success

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

One of the key skills successful entrepreneurs share is their ability to use the selling process as a research vehicle.

Being a great designer, mechanic or programmer matters little if you can’t convince someone to buy your goods or services. Alternatively, hoping “to be discovered” may leave you waiting a long time.

Sales Generate Revenue

With the exception of sales, all other activities that you do are costs to the business. Sales is your sole revenue generator and supports all other activities. Remember, No sales, No business. But getting in front of customers is hard work and often frustrating, especially if you’re being faced with constant rejection. So maybe it’s time to change your outlook.

Every minute you spend in front of a prospective client is a learning opportunity, even if you’re being told no. The client is giving you clues to where your product or service is deficient and need improvements. Consistently being told no for the same reason is like a trail of bread crumbs leading you to a better solution, but only if you’re listening.

So instead of getting mad or depressed look at rejection as some of the best research you’ll ever get.

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM #13 – Performance Reviews

Tagged as: annual reviews, entrepreneur, HR, managing, professional speaker

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

One dreaded and often neglected aspects of being a business owner and managing employees, is the annual performance reviews. Although you’re well intentioned and sincere in your desire to perform this exercise in a timely manner, most of us just end up forgetting about them or, because we never get around to preparing the formal review, we just keep putting it off, much to the frustration of the employee.

Is this the right attitude? Absolutely not! But it happens all the time. So why is that? Well, as with many HR related issues, few of us are skilled in the area and not really sure how you’re supposed to conduct a formal annual review. There seems to be as many theories as there are days in a month.

The Solution

After many years of struggling with this issue, I came up with a simple solution. I told the individuals that reported directly to me, that when I’m pleased about their performance or how they handled an issue, I’ll tell them at the time and likewise if I’m displeased. I was no longer going to collect all the information over the course of the year and then dump it all on them at once at the annual performance review.

Once that system was in place, everyone knew where they stood and the annual discussion revolved around the coming year’s expectation and any increase. All very positive stuff for both parties.

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM # 11 – Passion

Tagged as: business, daydreaming, entrepreneur, passion, professional speaker, Self- employment, small business, small business expert

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Entrepreneurship is currently all the rage. It’s the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s the magic elixir that will fix everyone’s problems and so many people are spending hours daydreaming about the life they will enjoy once they get into business.

Unfortunately for the uninitiated, going into business is very hard work and for the most part the reality of being in business doesn’t come anywhere near your dreams.

So if you’re bound and determined that being a business owner is on your horizon, you need to have one important ingredient- Passion.

Passion vs Excitement

Now don’t confusion true passion with excitement. Passion is your secret sauce, your silver bullet. Passion will keep you going when all hope has vanished. Passion is that internal flame that keeps burning long after you would have normally packed it in and quit, excitement won’t do any of that.

Believe me when I say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming about being in business. I’ve started thousands of businesses in my mind and the beauty is, it cost you nothing, so go ahead and dream. But if you’re going to turn your dream into reality, just make sure you choose the right dream and that you’re passionate about it.

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

SBM #9 – The Blame Game

Tagged as: Blame, Canada, decision making, ego, entrepreneur, Keynote, self-esteem, small business expert, success

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Successful entrepreneurs rarely engage in the Blame Game. The Blame Game is when anything negative happens it’s always someone else’s fault and never theirs.

You see at the end of the day, we make the decision to proceed down a given path even when we’ve consulted or solicited input other professionals. And once we have gathered as much information as we think we’ll need, it is then we make the decision to proceed or not proceed. The operative word is “we”. Right, wrong or indifferent “we” make the decision and as a result we must wear the consequences of that decision.

Blame someone else

Of course it’s always easier to blame someone else as it protects our self-esteem or egos, but successful business owners rarely go there and when they do, they don’t stay long.

They understand they are going to get incomplete advice and that they’re going to make a wrong decision, but when that happens they chalk it up in the loss column and move on.

Wallowing in self-pity or playing the Blame Game is just counter-productive to the successful entrepreneur’s way of thinking.

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

ORDER HERE

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Tag: entrepreneur

SBM #27- Fear of Decisions

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #23 – Who’s Got Your Back?

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #20 – Cash Flow – The Breath Of Life

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #18- Delegating Is Easier Than You Think

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #16 Rejection-The Best Research You’ll Ever Get!

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #13 – Performance Reviews

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM # 11 – Passion

Passion vs Excitement

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #9 – The Blame Game

Blame someone else

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

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